Genesis 6
Genesis 6 is the sixth chapter of the book of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. Outline As human beings spread across the world, the sons of God begin coupling with daughters of humans (2). Afterwards, God states that his spirit will not remain with man forever, for they are corrupt (3). Viewing just how vile and evil mankind had become, God resolved to erase life from the face of the Earth, regretting to creation of man (6-7). However, Noah is able to find favour in the Lord's eyes (8). Accordingly, God then relays His intent to flood the Earth and wash it clean to Noah, instructing him to create an Ark with two of every animal on it, and forms a covenant with Noah and his family. (13-21). The chapter ends with Noah doing all that God has said. Analysis Two large questions may stream forth from the early part of this chapter; one, can God regret, and two, who are the "Sons of God"? My studies have led me to be able to answer question one easily. God regrets that evil or bad things may need to come about for the ultimate good of the universe (that is my understanding). An example given by the renowned John Piper is that of disciplining your son, which then causes him to run away. You may regret that your disciplining has caused your son to run away, but that does not mean that disciplining him is something you regret doing in the sense that you would go back and not do it, should you be able to. In regards to the Sons of God, two main theories exist; one, that the Sons of God are fallen angels that bred with human women, or two, that the Sons of God are descendants of Enosh, who walked faithfully with the Lord. Of the two, I am of the opinion that the second is more understandable and likely. It could be seen that the "Sons of God" is a reference to the fact that, as stated at the end of Genesis 4, people had begun calling on the name of the Lord at that time, thus being not literal "Sons of God" but "Sons of God" in that they followed Him. This then leads to the idea of "spiritual intermarriage"; that is, that the daughters of humans were those who were faithless, and whose every inclination of the heart was on evil. This meant that the faithful of God had begun to mingle with those set on evil, and the Lord could not allow this; thus, He determined to remove all of mankind, except Noah, who was seen as faithful. Problematic to this answer, however, is the notion that "Sons of God" lacked any evil inclination in their hearts, despite being human. What Does It All Mean? # God is able to feel a spectrum of emotions far more complex than what humans can. In spite of His "regret", He still knows that this is what is best for us as humans, and pushes forward. # It is Noah's faith in the Lord specifically that saves him here. It is this kind of faith that then drives Noah to immediately and without question follow the word of the Lord. This can be dangerously interpreted, as it would take what is known as "special revelation" to do so. However, discernment and knowing when to act are clearly important aspects here. Noah knew it was God talking to him, and thus Noah acted. Category:Genesis Category:Old Testament